


What is a name?

by kristsune



Category: Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Follows Canon, Gen, alludes to fives/echo and fives/tup, angst angst angst, but not the focus, canon character death, fives has a very strong sense of self, so not in relationship tags
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-13
Updated: 2016-09-13
Packaged: 2018-08-14 22:33:46
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 810
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8031538
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kristsune/pseuds/kristsune
Summary: Journey through Fives life, and his thoughts about himself.





	What is a name?

**Author's Note:**

> So after I got my [Fives tattoo](http://kristsune.tumblr.com/post/149997172069/guess-who-got-a-a-fives-tattoo-and-is-wicked) I started thinking about Fives and his strong sense of self. This just, kind of happened. I am honestly really quite happy with this. But, be warned. So much angst.  
> beta'ed by the lovely Rae <3  
> rebloggable on [tumblr](http://kristsune.tumblr.com/post/150375848059/what-is-a-name%22)

“CT-27-5555.” 

The three year old clone tried not to flinch at his designation. There was something about hearing a number assigned to him that physically did something to him. It made him feel ill. He didn’t get to choose it, it had no personality. It was just a string of numbers in a line of thousands of other numbers. It wasn’t him. He was not just a random string of numbers. He may look like every other face in this room, but he was his own person. He was Fives. 

 

“CT-27-5555”

A six year old Fives bit his lip to keep himself from correcting the instructor. He learned the hard way that telling a superior officer what your real name is, is a monumentally bad idea. Fives distinctly remembered the multiple incidents in which he tried. He had been scolded, reprimanded, given extra duties, and even hit, but it was the threat of reconditioning that made him stop. Brothers who got reconditioned never came back the same. There was always something missing in their eyes. That terrified Fives --the thought that they could take away who he was. So he bit his lip until he bled, knowing that at least in his heart, he was Fives.

 

“Thanks, CT-27-5555. That was close.”  
“It’s Fives! The name is Fives!”

Fives wasn’t sure why Echo couldn’t get his name right. Maybe because Echo was having such a difficult time accepting who he was. He was still denying the name that fit him so well. And it had nothing to do with the way he always repeated orders. It part of who he was. It fit him in a way that no number or other name would. Fives understood that not all his brothers had such a strong sense of self like he did. But it still made him sad when they denied it for so long.

 

“Hey, Fives!”

The sound of his real name was like a balm to the very center of his being.

“Hey, Hevy, what’s going on?” 

“You said you were looking for a tattoo artist, right? I found one. Already on this transport. He said he’d take both of us before we are dropped off at Rishi. We’re gonna meet him in an hour in the barracks.” 

Fives closed his eyes and took a moment. He could finally do something he had wanted to do since he realized who he was. He could permanently alter his physical self to reflect who he really was. He could make sure that anyone who saw his face, would know who he was. He could show the world who he had always been. 

 

“Echo!”

Fives yelled as he watched Echo’s helmet roll out from the blast radius. This couldn’t be happening. He had been Fives since he was three years old, but they had been ‘Fives and Echo’ for so long he wasn’t sure if he could go back to being just Fives. The mere thought of never hearing Echo say his name again -- whether it was to tease him, whisper his name in bed, or even just to just say hello -- ripped his chest wide open. He would be Fives again, but it would take some time to stop hearing the Echo. 

 

“ARC-5555. Stand down.”

Fives clenched his jaw so tight he thought he was going to crack his teeth. There was no one less deserving of uttering even his designation than Krell. This general had even less respect for clones than most. Refusing outright to use their preferred names, spitting out their designations, his voice dripping with disdain. Fives was glad when Dogma shot Krell down. That _chakaar_ got what he deserved. Krell would never abuse his name, or the names of his brothers, ever again.

 

“Fives?”

It broke Fives’ heart to hear Tup say his name like that. Sad, scared, and just so utterly lost. Tup was strapped down, and it hurt Fives so much to see him like that. Tup had said his name for the last time. He felt like he was on that table instead. Cracked open and bleeding for everyone to see. Fives hadn’t felt like this since Echo died. He wasn’t sure if he could come back from this again. But he had to. He was Fives, and he was going to figure this out. For Tup’s sake. 

 

“Fives! Fives, brother.”

Rex’s voice sounded strange coming through through the ray shield. It was all warped and didn’t sound like Rex at all. Though, that may have been the ringing in his ears, and the pain radiating from his chest. Fives was glad that Rex was the last person he would ever hear say his name. Rex was a good brother. They had seen a lot together. Hopefully Rex would heed his warning. Hopefully Rex would remember him, and remember who he was. He was Fives.


End file.
